Tempting Tuesdays ~ Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad

The summer of salads continues! This week just went I was thinking about making a kick-ass pasta salad, this recipe came into my inbox from I Wash... You Dry.

Ingredients

Salad
16 oz cooked large shell pasta
1 Avocado, diced
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
6 strips of thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled


Dressing
1 cup Ranch dressing (I used some Peppercorn Ranch to kick it up a knotch)
1 Avocado
Juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Once drained, run cold water through to cool pasta down. Place in large bowl.

For dressing, place all dressing ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour over pasta and mix until completely coated.

Fold in grape tomatoes, diced Avocado, and bacon. Season with a little more salt and pepper if need be.

Serve with your favorite dish or maybe a burger and some loaded potato salad. Enjoy!

Tempting Tuesdays ~ Spicy Corn Salad

Time for a scrumptious summer salad with a kick, Spicy Corn Salad. Yes, this salad does lack the leafy green stuff, but it does have some beautiful peppers and colorful onion to add to the attraction.

This recipe is adapted from Pinch of Yum.

Ingredients

2 cans of corn, drained
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
A few dashes of Cayenne pepper
A few handfuls Chili flavored Fritos, crushed

Saute pepers and onions until soft. Cool for at least 5 minutes.

Combine corn, peppers, onion, Cayenne pepper, sour cream, mayonnaise, and cheese until completely mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Add crushed Fritos just before serving and enjoy!

Tempting Tuesdays ~ Loaded Potato Salad

As summer begins to creep it's way across the states, people begin getting together for cook-outs and functions with family and friends. Some of the things I enjoy most at these events are all the fabulous salads. This is a recipe that can be done quick or take hours depending on how you decide to prepare it. It is loosely based on several different recipes, so you can take what you want from it.

Ingredients

3 pounds potatoes
1/2 cup water
1 cup mayo
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 strips of crispy bacon, chopped into pieces
1 medium sized onion, diced
Salt and pepper

Additional items
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced or diced
1/3 cup Ranch dressing (reduce mayo added to 2/3 cup)

*Substitute 4 diced green onion stalks for medium onion to add a bit of color.

Dice potatoes into one inch cubes. I peeled these potatoes, but if you have red potatoes, just leave the skin on.

Place the cubes in a microwave safe bowl and add 1/2 cup water. Cook covered in microwave for 12 to 15 minutes. Use your own judgement on how firm you like your own potatoes.

Remove from the microwave and drain. Place in refrigerator for an hour to cool potatoes completely.

When cool, add mayo (and Ranch dressing if you like). Stir to get all the cubes completely coated.

Add cheese, bacon, onion, salt, pepper, and anything else you like then stir well.

Plate up a few scoops with your favorite fried chicken, ribs, or steak for the perfect side dish. Enjoy!

Tempting Tuesdays ~ Homemade Cheese Crackers

Since I have started finding recipes for things I would usually buy already made, I have found some real gems. In my search for a Cheez-It like cracker recipe, I stumbled upon this recipe from love, pomegranate house. These are easy and delicious. A great homemade snack.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used my favorite combo of Colby and Monterey Jack)
1 cup flour (Can use all purpose gluten free flour to make gluten free)
3-4 tbsp water

Mix butter, salt, and cheese together until combined.

Add flour and mix until combined. It will be very crumbly at this point. This is where you dig in with your hands and form the dough into a ball.

Wrap dough ball tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once cool, divide in half. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into squares. If you feel so inclined, take a toothpick and make a little hole in the center of each square.

Place each square on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for 13-17 minutes.

*The original recipe says this will fill two baking sheets. Every time I have made this recipe, I have filled at least three if not four baking sheets.

The first time I made this recipe, I could have sworn I was eating Cheez-Its. Now when I bake them, they taste even better than the store bought treats. Give them a try!

Tempting Tuesdays ~ Cooking with Beer

From the kitchen of R.E. Hargrave

Cooking with beer ~ Oatmeal Stout

This particular beer has a rich molasses flavor that will permeate your stew and sweeten your bread just right. 

When Texas got hit with another freaky cold snap, I decided we needed a warm, comfort food dinner to fight the chills. Craving steak house bread ~ you know, those yummy mini loaves they bring to the table while you wait? ~ it seemed like the perfect time to pull out my beer bread recipe. I then opted to take it a step further by also doing an Oatmeal Stout Vegetable Beef Stew to accompany the bread.

Let's start with the stew . . .

What you'll need:

****

• Cubed beef
• ~1 1/2 c flour, 1 T garlic powder, & ~ 2 tsp black pepper 
• 1- 12 oz bottle of your favorite stout
• 2 c Beef Broth (to start; you may need to add liquid later after the veggies have had a chance to cook down)
• Asst. chopped veggies (Seen here: 1 large onion, 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery, ~ 1 1/2 c chopped brussel sprouts, ~ 1 c chopped mushroom, ~ 2 c chopped fingerling potatoes, & 1 bag of frozen green beans)

What you'll do:

Step 1: Preheat large stew pot
with 2-3 T of canola oil

Step 2: Mix flour, garlic powder, & pepper,
and then coat the beef cubes. Shake off excess.

Step 3: Add floured meat to hot pan.
Stir occasionally until meat has been seared
and pot is ready to deglaze.

Step 4: Deglaze by adding 1 - 12 oz bottle of stout beer.

Step 5: Add ~ 1 T parsley and 2 cups of beef broth.
Stir.

Step 6: Now add in all of your prepared veggies.
Stir every 15 minutes or so to incorporate as veggies cook down and give off their liquid.

While the stew cooks over a medium-low heat for the next hour, 

we can get the bread going . . .

What you'll need: 

3 cups flour
3 T sugar
1 - 12 oz bottle of beer

What you'll do:

Mix ingredients until a loose, sticky dough forms.

Place into greased loaf pan and
put into 350 degree oven to bake 50-60 minutes.

Bon Appetito from the kitchen of R.E. Hargrave!

Tempting Tuesdays ~ Duchess Potatoes

Attempting to stick with the holiday side dish theme, I found this gem on Heidi's So-Called Life Blog. Duchess Potatoes is an easy way to dress up your favorite mashed potatoes. I also got a thumbs up from both of my kiddos because they thought they tasted better than tater tots. Go me!

Ingredients

2 pounds of baking potatoes
1/2 cup of butter, plus additional melted butter for topping
salt and peper to taste
1 egg

Peel and quarter your potatoes. I figured out about five large potatoes equaled two pounds.

I put the potatoes in water then set it to boil. You can boil your water first, then add your potatoes if you wish. End result should be potatoes cooked until fork tender. Drain and transfer back to pot or in a separate bowl. Add butter, salt, and pepper and mash well. You can do this with a fork, hand mixer, or standing mixer. Whichever way you do it, try to get as many of the lumps out as possible. Allow your potatoes to cool for 15-20 minutes then add your egg and mix well.

Transfer potatoes into your piping bag fitted with a large star tip. This is where having lumps could be a problem and clog up your tip. Pipe your potatoes onto your foil lined or greased baking sheet to form swirling peeks about 2 inches across. Brush with melted butter.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Perfect balance of crispy and creamy. Plus they add a little flair to your table.

What are some of your favorite potato dishes?